Inclined Plane/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim & Moby An animation shows Moby walking up a ramp. Tim reads from a typed letter. Tim: Dear Tim & Moby, who invented ramps? From, Allison (Minneapolis). I'm not sure that there was one single person who invented the ramp, but anyone who has ever used one understands why they are so great. Moby walks in from the right side of the screen and moves downward as he walks behind Tim and out the left side of the screen. Moby: Beep! Tim: A ramp is one of the most basic examples of a simple machine called the inclined plane. Moby walks in from the left side of the screen and moves upward as he walks behind Tim and out the right side of the screen. He is holding a box. He then comes back into the screen on the right. Text reads: inclined plane. Moby: Beep? Tim: No, not a plane like an airplane. A plane like a… like a surface. Tim holds his hands so his palms are facing down and then moves them outward. Tim: As Moby here can probably tell you, an inclined plane makes work easier. Moby walks left, moving downward, and out the left side of the screen. Tim: To understand why, we need to understand the concept of work. Moby walks in from the left side of the screen and moves upward as he walks behind Tim and out the right side of the screen. He is holding a box. Tim: Work is the effort exerted over a certain distance. An animation shows a long, tilted rectangle. On the rectangle are equally spaced marks. Above the right side of the rectangle, an arrow points up and to the left, parallel to the rectangle. Above it, text reads: effort. Below the right side of the rectangle, text reads: distance. From the left side of the arrow, another arrow appears, also parallel to the rectangle. From the end of this arrow, another similar arrow appears. From the end of this arrow, another similar arrow appears, ending above the left side of the rectangle. Tim: The work needed to perform a given task is always the same, but the distance and effort can change in relationship to each other. If Moby wanted to, he could bypass the ramp he's using and jump straight up onto the platform. An animation shows a rectangular platform with boxes stack on it. On the left side of the platform is a ramp. On the right side of the platform is Moby, holding a box. He jumps straight up and lands on the platform. Tim: This is a pretty short distance, but it means he has to expend a lot of effort in one short burst. The animation zooms out and an arrow appears on the right side of the platform. It starts at the ground and points straight up, ending at the top of the platform. The animation changes to show Moby. He is sweating. Tim: Even a robot can't keep that up all day. Moby wipes his forehead. Moby: Beep. Tim: An inclined plane like a ramp increases the distance. An animation shows Moby on the left side of the platform, holding the box, walking up the ramp. Tim: That means the effort is spread out, and Moby can move boxes from now until Doomsday without getting too tired. The animation zooms out and a long, skinny arrow appears on the left side of the platform. It starts above the ground at the bottom of ramp and moves up and right, parallel to the ramp. It ends at the top of the platform. Tim: He does have to walk further. A short, thick arrow appears on the right side of the platform. It starts at the ground and points straight up, ending at the top of the platform. Tim: So, if you increase the distance, you decrease the effort. An animation shows a long, tilted rectangle. On the rectangle are equally spaced marks. Above the rectangle, an arrow points up and to the right, parallel to the rectangle. In the top-left of the screen, text reads: effort. On the bottom-left of the screen, text reads: distance. The rectangle and the arrow stretch to the left. Because each side of the rectangle remains at the same height, the grade becomes less steep. Tim: If you decrease the distance, you increase the effort. In the animation, the rectangle and arrow contract back to their starting position. Tim: And the amount of work always remains constant. It's a tradeoff, you're not getting anything for free here. Moby walks in from the left side of the screen and moves upward as he walks behind Tim and out the right side of the screen. He is holding a box. You can find the inclined plane everywhere, in ramps, and doorstops, and axes, and even screws! The screen is black and images appear and Tim speaks. In the top-left, an image shows a flat ramp. In the top-right, an image shows a wedged doorstop holding a door open. In the bottom-left, an image shows an ax. In the bottom-right, an image shows a screw. Moby: Beep? Tim: Well, the threads on a screw are really just a long ramp wrapped around a piece of metal! An animation shows a tilted screw. The screen moves to the left side of the screen and tilts so that it is vertical. From the top of the screw, the thread is pulled off and unwound so that it extends from the bottom of the screw to the top-right side of the screen. The animation changes to show Moby in front of an open box, sweating. Tim: And that's the inclined plane. Moby looks at the box, puts his hand inside, and pulls out a brick. He points to it. Moby: Beep. The animation changes to show Tim. Tim: Well, I don't know. I thought you moving all these boxes full of bricks would be a good demonstration for the inclined plane. You have to put them back now. An image shows open boxes full of bricks. The animation changes to show Moby taping up a box. On the box, text reads: Deliver to colon The North Pole. The box starts to move. Tim: (muffled) Hey, um, Moby? Let me out. The animation changes to show Moby holding a stamp. On the stamp, text reads: air mail. Below the text is a picture of an airplane. The animation changes to show the box again and Moby puts the stamp on the box. The box moves. Tim: (muffled) Argh. The box moves again. Tim: (muffled) Aaargh! Moby? Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Engineering & Technology Transcripts